The state General Assembly ordered the agency, part of the state Department of Health, to develop and implement a new system to distribute federal and state funds during the legislative session in 2014.

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These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'order.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Near Antonyms

Financial Definition of ORDER

What It Is

An alternative order is a group of limit orders linked together within a brokerage account. If one order is executed, all other linked orders are automatically canceled.

How It Works

Sometimes called an "either-or" order or a "one-cancels-all" order, an alternative order essentially gives an investor the choice to buy one out of a number of different stocks for the best price in the shortest amount of time.

If an order is partially filled, the remaining orders will be reduced proportionately to the remaining quantity of the unfilled order. If the customer cancels an order before the execution, all orders will be canceled. If the system cancels or rejects the order, the remaining orders will not automatically be canceled.

This trading strategy is best illustrated with an example.

Let's assume an investor wants to invest $10,000 in the market, but he wants to buy stock in only one of three companies. He knows the circumstances under which he wants to buy each company (the "trigger condition”). He places an alternative order with the following trigger conditions:

a) Limit Order 1 - Company X is trading at $40. The investor places a limit order to buy Company X if it drops to $35.

b) Limit Order 2 - Company Y is trading at $42. The investor places a limit order to buy Company Y if it drops to $38­.

c) Limit Order 3 - Company Z is trading at $45. The investor places a limit order to buy Company Z if it drops to $40.

Company X and Y hold steady, but Company Z drops to $40 and triggers Limit Order 3. The limit order for Company Z is executed and automatically cancels the limit orders for Company X and Company Y.

Why It Matters

Alternative orders allow investors flexibility to bet on their informed hunches, while curtailing their exposure. They can make a dynamic bet on the market, simultaneously playing several angles, with a floor as to how much they can lose.

This type of order is more complex than a normal order, and not all brokerages accept alternative orders. Even when brokerages do, the procedures, rules and terms may vary. Check with your brokers for the specific details before placing an alternative order.

What It Is

An open order is an instruction to buy or sell securities that has not been executed or cancelled. Another term used is "backlog order."

How It Works

An order may remain open when an investor places conditions on their transaction, such as a price minimum. If the condition is not met (e.g. the stock has not yet reached the minimum amount requested by the investor), the order remains "open."

Why It Matters

While a market order is executed immediately, an open order may take time to fill or may remain unfilled. It is important for the investor to monitor market conditions and keep track of their open orders and be sure that each order should remain in effect and be filled over time.

What It Is

A qualified domestic relations order (QDRO) is a legal document used to split a person's retirement plan, usually as part of a divorce decree.

How It Works

For example, let's assume that Jane and John are getting divorced. John has a 401(k) with $500,000 in it. The presiding judge decides that they will split the 401(k) 50/50. In order to officially do so, the judge will sign a QDRO (pronounced "quadro") directing the account's custodian to put 50% of the 401(k) in a separate account under Jane's name.

A QDRO must specifically describe the percentage of benefits to be allocated to the ex-spouse. It may not award amounts or benefits that are not available under the spouse's retirement plan.

Why It Matters

QDROs help people allocate tax responsibilities after divorce. In our example, Jane becomes responsible for any taxes incurred when she begins taking distributions of the 401(k) money. Without the QDRO, John would have been legally responsible for the taxes on the distributions, even if he gives or is ordered to give Jane the proceeds.

b: a ruling or command made by a competent administrative authority;
specifically: one resulting from administrative adjudication and subject to judicial review and enforcement

an administrative order may not be inconsistent with the Constitution

—Wells v. State, 654 So. 2d 145 (1995)

c: an authoritative command issued by the court

violated a court order and was jailed for contempt

—cease-and-desist order\ˌsēs-ənd-di-ˈzist-, -ˈsist-\

: an order from a court or quasi-judicial tribunal to stop engaging in a particular activity or practice (as an unfair labor practice) — compare injunction, mandamus, stay

—consent order

: an agreement of litigating parties that by consent takes the form of a court order

—final order

: an order of a court or quasi-judicial tribunal which leaves nothing further to be determined or accomplished in that forum except execution of the judgment and from which an appeal will lie

—gag order

: an order barring public disclosure or discussion (as by the involved parties or the press) of information relating to a case

—order to show cause

: an order requiring the prospective object of a legal action to show cause why that action should not take place —called alsoshow cause order

—pretrial order

: a court order setting out the rulings, stipulations, and other actions taken at a pretrial conference

—protection order

: restraining order in this entry

—protective order

: an order issued for the protection of a particular party: as

a: an order that limits, denies, or defers discovery by a party in order to prevent undue embarrassment, expense, oppression, or disclosure of trade secrets

b: restraining order in this entry

—qualified domestic relations order

: an order, decree, or judgment that satisfies the criteria set out in section 414 of the Internal Revenue Code for the payment of all or part of individual pension, profit sharing, or retirement benefits usually to a divorcing spouse (as for alimony or child support)

Note:The alienation or assignment of funds under a qualified domestic relations order does not affect the tax status of the plan from which such funds are paid.

—restraining order\ri-ˈstrā-niŋ-\

1: temporary restraining order in this entry

2: an order of a specified duration issued after a hearing attended by all parties that is intended to protect one individual from violence, abuse, harassment, or stalking by another especially by prohibiting or restricting access or proximity to the protected party

excluded from the home by a restraining order issued because of domestic violence

1: an order of brief duration that is issued ex parte to protect the plaintiff's rights from immediate and irreparable injury by preserving a situation or preventing an act until a hearing for a preliminary injunction can be held

2: a protective order issued ex parte for a brief period prior to a hearing on a restraining order attended by both parties and intended to provide immediate protection from violence or threatened violence

—turnover order\ˈtər-ˌnō-vər-\

: an order commanding one party to turn over property to another;
especially: an order commanding a judgment debtor to turn over assets to a judgment creditor

turnover order in aid of execution

—California Code of Civil Procedure

d: a command issued by a military superior

4 a: a direction regarding the party to whom a negotiable instrument shall be paid